Not Getting Much Seat Time, Lots of Time With Ellie Though

[Rudi]

Haven't been getting much seat time aside from moving Ellie from pile to pile. Between the 4 or 5 cords of popple for next year and the 10 cords I need to get in for this year, Ellie the splitter and me have been getting some quality time together. Here is a little video of some popple getting reduced in size. It is green, wet and gnarly ...

[cowboy]

Cool Rudi

Sure is nice and quiet My splitter has a 11 hp briggs on it and its so loud I can't hear my self think.

Billy

[Rudi]

Thanks Billy

Ellie is idling... if I don't increase the throttle 1 notch Ellie will stall in 1st. The PRV is set for 1,000lbs so I guess that would generate into approximately 1-1/4 tons of splitting pressure. Seems to be all I need. And yeah, it is nice that she is so quiet. I can listen to my tunes whilst working so it takes some of the boredom out of the equation.

Gotta go pile the last load in the basement and then some more splitting is on order. One of the most difficult jobs has been splitting some of the spruce chunks .. boy they are gnarly. With knots/stems running helter skelter it makes splitting really interesting. I will say though that so far out of all the wood I have split there are only about 4 pieces that I have had to put aside -- just too gnarly. May have to cut in half with the chainsaw then resplit, or maybe just let em dry some more and give em another shot next year.....

[BIGHOSS]

Rudi, What is popple wood? It looks very much like hackberry here in TN.

[randallc]

That's a smooth lookin' operation and Ellie sounds great. First time I have watched a cub splitter work. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

[Bob Perry]

What is that, Rudi, a hydraulic pump on the PTO ?

[paulsouc]

What a nice set-up Rudi. Sure is quiet! Makes me want another Cub that much more.

[coppersmythe]

hello rudi , from the deep south. havent talked to you in a while. that is a fine looking piece of equipment. your effort has been rewarded. i was curious and have to ask, and please, bear in mind my latitude. are the 10 cords for your average winter usage? coppersmythe................................................

[Rudi]

Val:

Depending on the winter. Usually we burn about 4 - 5 cords of good mixed wood from spruce/fir/pine to maple/birch/poplar aka popple and maybe some other hardwoods depending on what we get. Last year though it was a pretty long and kinda moist/cold winter and we burned almost 8 cords of wood.

Bob:

Nope no external hydraulic pumps. The hydraulic system is simply Ellie's touch control with some added plumbing etc. Will post more pics over the next couple days of the upgrades to the system.

Ron:

Popple is a type of poplar. Not tulipwood, not eastern white poplar or any of the furniture quality poplars but kind of a scrappy poplar that has limited use. It is really gnarly, hard to split most of the time because of how the branches grow.

Paul and Randall;

Thanks for the kind words, they are appreciated.

[Jeff M]

No Crocs!!!

[Bob Perry]

Bob:

Nope no external hydraulic pumps. The hydraulic system is simply Ellie's touch control with some added plumbing etc. Will post more pics over the next couple days of the upgrades to the system.

Wow I am surprised. Glad to see you do well. One time I built a splitter and ran it off my bigger Internationals, like the 966. Became frustrated with it getting stuck so much, after a few years of that went to Central Tractor and came home with a factory-made splitter with 2-stage pump. Went from about 95 hp to 5 hp but cut right through the knots.

[gcbailey]

Rudi, That is awesome. I've saw 3 pt splitters before, but mounting that up on a cub is wild!! My dad has an outdoor wood/coal furnace and he usually goes through about 3.5 cords per year, not counting coal. He burns year round. That would be so much better than trying to maneuver the pull behind splitter on the ATV..... we normally cut and split out on our acreage on the spot, instead of cutting, loading, unloading, splitting, stacking....

What do you think the rating is on that splitter?

[TJG]

impressive video.

Todd

[Rudi]

No Crocs!!!

Jeff:

Well the blue ones have sort of worn out.. hmmmm crocs that last what 7/8 years I now have a pair of tan ones

Gary:

Well I am not so sure. Would have to do the math I guess (right after I figure out what the math needs to be ). The splitter itself is rated for 15 tons with an outboard power pack - usually 5HP Honda/B&S/Tecumseh gas engine. This particular splitter would have retailed for almost $1,450.00Cdn a couple years ago with the power pack. With Ellie's TC as the hydraulic supply (max 2,500 lbs) and the PRV set at 1,000 lbs with a 3" cylinder, I figure that I am getting about a ton and a half or two tons of pressure. Seems to be more than enough even for the Red Oak and other species. The ones that give me the biggest grief is the spruce -- really gnarly/knotty and does present some unique scenarios. I am not convinced that brute force is the solution to splitting problems. I find finesse is much more useful. Split between the knots, slab off as needed and you usually end up with stove/furnace sized wood easily.

I think so far I may have used maybe 8 gallons of gas to split the 15 cords or so I have already split. With a regular 2 stroke it would have cost me twice or 3 times as much in fuel alone. The 8 gallons or so includes the fuel needed to get up into and back down from the woods. Right now I am splitting about 1/2 km from the house. I like the idea of splitting where the logs are. Less handling. I still will bring 4 foot out of the bush cause I cut them on my saw table, but now I will be cutting then splitting on the fly - so that I can skip that one major step of piling to season before splitting.

Gary, here are the links to the project itself

• How To Build A Cub Mounted Wood Splitter
  
  1. Part 1
  2. Part 2
  3. Part 3
  4. Part 4
  5. Part 5

Todd:

Thanks, I still cannot believe that Ellie can split the size of stock we have been splitting and at an idle to top it off. That really blows me away.

[BigMatt]

Maybe it would be a safety hazard since I have never used a wood splitter, but would it be possible to put some sort of spring on the lever to make the splitter return to its up position? It seems like you might save some time if it automatically returned to the up position.